Coronavirus updates: 84% of California population to go on lockdown Sunday night

The U.S. recorded 2,733 deaths on Wednesday, the U.S. COVID Tracking Project reported, the second-highest total since the pandemic began.

The only higher total was record during the previous height of the pandemic on May 7, when 2,769 Americans died of coronavirus-related issues, according to the tracking project.

"It is also the first time deaths have exceeded 5k in a 2-day period," the project tweeted.

The seven-day average for deaths is at 1,584, according to the health data.

Hospitalizations in the country passed another grim milestone, as over 100,000 people are in hospitals for COVID-19 symptoms, according to the data. The seven-day average for hospitalizations is at 95,314, The COVID Tracking Project said.

About 30% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their intensive care unit beds filled, according to an internal memo by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services obtained by ABC News.

Roughly 21% of all hospital patients nationwide have COVID-19, which is just 3 percentage points lower than the all-time peak, according to HHS.

The memo said 30% of ventilators in use are occupied by coronavirus patients.

Several states have seen record-level hospitalization levels in the last week, according to HHS.

On Nov. 30, Arkansas recorded 1,063 COVID-19 active hospitalizations, 107 COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU and 211 COVID-19 patients on ventilators, the memo said.

In the week ending Nov. 29, hospital occupancy in Louisiana averaged 64.2% for inpatient beds and 70.7% for adult ICU beds, HHS said.

ICU utilization in New Mexico averaged 95% in that same period, according to the memo.

-ABC News' Josh Margolin

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced he is quarantining after he was exposed to a person who tested positive for the coronavirus.

"He was exposed to an individual who at the time of exposure had not yet tested positive, was wearing a mask, and was/still is asymptomatic," EPA spokesman James Hewitt said in a statement.

Wheeler was slated to speak at the Nixon Library tomorrow for EPA's 50th anniversary, but he said he will give the address virtually.

-ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs

The NBA and NBA Players Association announced the first results of coronavirus testing among players in the lead-up to its shortened season starting later this month.

The league and union said 48 of the 546 players tested, roughly 8.8%, had positive results. Any player who tested positive will be quarantined away from teammates as training camps begin to open.

In March the NBA became the first American professional sports league to suspend its season after a player on the Utah Jazz contracted the virus. The suspension of the season, and eventual cancellation, started a domino effect among sports across the country. Games restarted in July under a "bubble" at Orlando's Wide World of Sports Complex. The Los Angeles Lakers won the title in October.

The 2020-2021 season is slated to begin Dec. 22 and will not take place in a "bubble."